Sport Reported lawsuit threatens to take MLB back down old PED path

15:50 13 february 2018

15:50 13 february 2018 Source:
Sporting News

Taylor Swift's motion to dismiss Shake It Off copyright lawsuit granted by judge

Taylor Swift can once again breathe easy after a judge dismissed two songwriters' copyright lawsuit over her hit Shake It Off. The 28-year-old singer enjoyed massive chart success worldwide with the catchy tune, which includes the lines: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate." But in September (17), songwriting duo Sean Hall and Nathan Butler filed papers claiming they came up with the line in a hit song they penned 16 years ago. In the lawsuit, the accomplished songwriters alleged that 20 per cent of Shake It Off is their 2001 song Playas Gon' Play, recorded by girl group 3LW, due to the lyrics "Playas, they gonna play and haters, they gonna hate" - and sought substantial financial damages from Swift. Swift filed to dismiss the case earlier this year, and on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald agreed to do just that. Fitzgerald looked at the lyrics of both songs as he analysed the case, and had to decide whether or not there was enough similarity between the two tunes' protectable lyrics. "The lynchpin of this entire case is thus whether or not the lyrics 'Playas, they gonna play / And haters, they gonna hate' are eligible for protection under the Copyright Act," he wrote in his ruling.

Albert Pujols released a statement about his planned lawsuit against Jack Clark. “I am currently in the process of taking legal action against Jack Clark and his employers at WGNU 920AM. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Clark also leveled PED accusations against other MLB stars.

The lawsuit , which claims ACES has been providing MLB players with PEDs for decades, purports to have a signed affidavit from Kirk Radomski, who pleaded guilty to two such charges and was a major player in MLB 's Mitchell Report on PED usage a decade ago

Is Major League Baseball headed for another PED scandal in the wake of a report Monday by FanRag's Jon Heyman? No, or at least not until new names and details emerge. Right now there's no such evidence.

Heyman reported on the filing of a $2.5 million lawsuit by Juan Carlos Nunez against prominent player agents Sam and Seth Levinson. Nunez claims the brothers have been directly involved for decades in helping clients obtain PEDs and that they reneged on a deal to compensate him for the "dirty work" he did for them.

Nunez also alleges former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, the star witness of the 2007 Mitchell Report into PED use in baseball, corroborated his claims in a sworn statement.

Taylor Swift's motion to dismiss Shake It Off copyright lawsuit granted by judge

<p>Swift filed to dismiss the case earlier this year, and on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald agreed to do just that.</p>The 28-year-old singer enjoyed massive chart success worldwide with the catchy tune, which includes the lines: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

Alex Rodriguez claims in his lawsuit that MLB bought the cooperation of the chief witness against him. • MLB is paying million to Anthony Bosch, the proprietor of the now-defunct Biogenesis anti-aging clinic suspected to be a source of illegal PEDs for players, for his cooperation in the league 's

But by June, the league had secured Bosch's cooperation and was well on its way to its biggest PED bust ever. Braun was the first to go down , accepting a season-ending He's decided to take his case to federal court, but for now, the ruling on his ban is the Biogenesis scandal's exclamation point.

MORE: Cubs owner wants Sammy Sosa to come clean on PED use

Those last two paragaphs might sound ominous for baseball, but a closer look at Heyman's report indicates something different, at least for the moment.

Just two PED users were mentioned in the report: former Levinson clients Melky Cabrera and Nelson Cruz. Cabrera was suspended 50 games in 2012 for a positive test; Cruz agreed to 50-game suspension in 2013 to help MLB close its investigation of players' ties to PED supplier Anthony Bosch, who operated the now-defunct Biogenesis clinic in Miami. Twelve of the 14 players who received Biogenesis suspensions were represented by ACES, the Levinsons' agency (per this 2013 report by USA Today's Bob Nightengale).

Heyman reported that Nunez, in his lawsuit, addressed the fake website he helped put up to convince MLB that Cabrera's failed PED test was the result of ignorance. Nunez is alleging Seth Levinson cooked up the idea as part of a scheme to fool MLB and that the brothers then made him a fall guy. Nunez was sentenced in 2015 to three months in federal prison and three months of house arrest for his part in a conspiracy to steer players to Bosch.

Kanye West settles cancelled tour lawsuit against insurers

Kanye West has settled his lawsuit with Saint Pablo Tour insurers Lloyd's of London. The Stronger rapper, 40, abandoned his tour in November 2016 after he was hospitalised for "temporary psychosis" caused by dehydration and sleep deprivation, weeks after his wife Kim Kardashian was held at gunpoint and robbed in Paris, France. Last August (17), lawyers for Kanye and his company Very Good Touring, Inc. sued executives at Lloyd's of London for &dollar;10 million (£7.4 million), claiming they were wrongly withholding a payout over the scrapped dates. Now the rapper has settled the case, with Howard King, the attorney representing Very Good Touring, Inc. telling Rolling Stone that the "dispute has been amicably resolved". Details of the settlement have yet to be revealed, but TMZ.com reports that "Lloyd's folded under massive pressure by Kanye's lawyers and agreed to pay most of what Kanye was due under the policy". Following the filing of the original lawsuit, Lloyd's bosses responded by filing a countersuit against Kanye stating the reasons for the cancellation were "not beyond (his) control" - thereby invalidating his insurance claim. Although their legal filing did not state why they believed Kanye could be held accountable for the tour cancellation, it did list actions that would invalidate his insurance policy, including drug and alcohol use and pre-existing medical conditions.

The report had Liam Collins, a British hurdler, go undercover with a hidden camera to investigate the use of PEDs in sports. Sly does not state that Peyton Manning took HGH, but the report suggests it. It's easy to see why Manning is upset and is threatening a lawsuit .

Reported Commands: Change to reported speech using the person and the verb in brackets! 1. Yes! I’ll do it again (JACK, AGREE) He agreed to do it again. 4. Keep quiet or I’ll punish you (THE TEACHER, THREATEN ) The teacher threatened to punish me if I didn’t keep quiet.

The Levinsons used that conviction Monday night in an attempt to impeach Nunez.

"ACES (the name of the Levinsons' agency) has been thoroughly investigated, and at every turn, has fully cooperated. The MLBPA (players association) exonerated us, all of the players cleared us, and it was conclusively proven that we did absolutely nothing wrong. This is nothing more than a shakedown by a man broken by his own criminal actions," the brothers said in a statement to MLBtraderumors.com.

MORE: Goose Gossage calls out steroid users

As for Radomski, he told Heyman the statement Nunez is citing is likely the one Radomski gave to MLB when it was investigating the Levinsons' alleged role in the Cabrera case (Heyman noted MLB just censured the brothers). Radomski also said he collected cash and checks from the Levinsons at their Brooklyn office when they paid him for PEDs and that both men knew what their clients were receiving.

Tyga: 'Kylie Jenner media attention turned me into a lawsuit target'

Rapper Tyga has urged fans not to believe reports of his various legal and financial troubles, insisting "90 per cent" of the allegations are "fake". The Rack City hitmaker, real name Michael Nguyen-Stevenson, has repeatedly hit headlines over the years after being taken to court over a rent dispute with his former landlord and a jewellery debt, as well as reportedly having his leased luxury sports cars repossessed. In some cases, Tyga has had to pay up, but the hip-hop star is adamant the majority of "crazy" claims reported in the news are not even accurate. "I'd say 90 per cent of the stuff (lawsuit reports) is fake," Tyga declared on Complex magazine's Everyday Struggle interview series. "I never got a car repo'd (repossessed) ever, I never ever been evicted, never (sic)" Instead, the rapper believes he simply became an easy target because of his high-profile relationship with Kim Kardashian's half-sister Kylie Jenner. "I just feel like I was in the (spot) light a lot," he said. "People were suing me because I was in the light and I was next to this famous family, so people were like, 'Well, f**k it, let me get at it (try and sue),' and I didn't have the proper team so people were taking advantage" Tyga and Kylie split last spring (17), and now the 28-year-old insists the legal dramas have died down.

the lawsuit filed by ex-ACES employee juan carlos nunez contains allegations that aces proprietors seth and sam levinson informed him to do "whatever it took " to recruit/retain clients, including secret payments to players & people who provided PEDs . suit seeks "millions" of $.

Again, not really a "bombshell" revelation. Radomski has been saying similar stuff for years.

There needs to be something very new for this report to make MLB uncomfortable. Otherwise, the media and fans will just be re-litigating the Mitchell Report and Biogenesis while the litigation brought by Nunez drones on. And that's going to get old very fast.

Bill Paxton’s family sues hospital for wrongful death over ‘maverick’ surgery .
The Titanic actor’s widow and their children are suing Los Angeles’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre and a surgeon for undisclosed damages.They claim Los Angeles’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre and Dr Ali Khoynezhad misrepresented the risks of the unnecessary and “maverick” operation that the surgeon was not experienced with, according to court files.

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Albert Pujols released a statement about his planned lawsuit against Jack Clark. “I am currently in the process of taking legal action against Jack Clark and his employers at WGNU 920AM. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Clark also leveled PED accusations against other MLB stars.

The lawsuit , which claims ACES has been providing MLB players with PEDs for decades, purports to have a signed affidavit from Kirk Radomski, who pleaded guilty to two such charges and was a major player in MLB 's Mitchell Report on PED usage a decade ago

Alex Rodriguez sues MLB over PED investigation - www.espn.com

Alex Rodriguez claims in his lawsuit that MLB bought the cooperation of the chief witness against him. • MLB is paying $5 million to Anthony Bosch, the proprietor of the now-defunct Biogenesis anti-aging clinic suspected to be a source of illegal PEDs for players, for his cooperation in the league 's

How MLB Has Changed in the Year Since the | Bleacher Report - bleacherreport.com

But by June, the league had secured Bosch's cooperation and was well on its way to its biggest PED bust ever. Braun was the first to go down , accepting a season-ending He's decided to take his case to federal court, but for now, the ruling on his ban is the Biogenesis scandal's exclamation point.

The report had Liam Collins, a British hurdler, go undercover with a hidden camera to investigate the use of PEDs in sports. Sly does not state that Peyton Manning took HGH, but the report suggests it. It's easy to see why Manning is upset and is threatening a lawsuit .

REPORTED SPEECH - www.english-grammar.at

Reported Commands: Change to reported speech using the person and the verb in brackets! 1. Yes! I’ll do it again (JACK, AGREE) He agreed to do it again. 4. Keep quiet or I’ll punish you (THE TEACHER, THREATEN ) The teacher threatened to punish me if I didn’t keep quiet.

the lawsuit filed by ex-ACES employee juan carlos nunez contains allegations that aces proprietors seth and sam levinson informed him to do "whatever it took " to recruit/retain clients, including secret payments to players & people who provided PEDs . suit seeks "millions" of $.

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